National award-winning environmental film screened by Aaranyak

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Aaranyak (www.aaranyak.org) has been working in tandem with all stakeholders for securing the biodiversity and people's well-being in the landscapes. To depict the relationship between people and the ecosystem that they live in, a film was made- Manas and People.

During the 68th National Film Awards ceremony, the film bagged the prestigious award administered by the Directorate of Film Festivals, Government of India as the best non-feature film under 'Best Environment Film'. This film was screened on Thursday at the Guwahati Press Club by Aaranyak, followed by showcase of Aaranyak's conservation efforts undertaken in the last one year.

The film tells the story about the ecosystem people who inhabit the fringe of Manas National Park- a Natural World Heritage Site. It portrays the way of life of the indigenous Bodo community, and other communities as well, and their association with the natural landscape. It reflects the 'bioculturalism' of indigenous communities and their struggle to maintain cultural ethos and earn livelihood.

This has been a multiagency collaborative programme involving the Forest Department (BTC), Park management, Wildlife Conservation Trust and Panthera, and supported by the Integrated Tiger and Habitat Conservation Programme, a joint initiative of the IUCN-KfW. This was followed by a felicitation of the film's director- Dip Bhuyan, and Jayanta Kumar Sarma, the film's Associate Director.

Alolika Sinha, Aaranyak'spublicity secretary spoke about the conservation efforts of Aaranyak. "One of the sectors we have been working is to aid conservation of various endangered species through our research-based efforts. Using novel and cutting-edge technologies and traditional methods, we are monitoring animal populations and their habitat. To monitor large carnivores, their prey and habitat we have been using camera-trap and line transect methods in Manas and Raimona National Parks, and Dima Hasao district of Assam," Sinha said.

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